Jamestown Blues
Last weekend I decided to see a bit more of the city of Accra, as the
last weeks have been purely consumed by work stuff. We checked out
Jamestown, the oldest district of the city right by the ocean, and
seemingly the only "tourist attraction" in the city.
I had already heard that the beach is not really suitable for swimming as sewage of this 2 million people capital is lead into it, but I utterly unprepared for what was to come.
For one, Accra is a huge city, with huge mansions and fancy parts of town (e.g. Airport Residential), but fact is that many people still live in poverty, despite the rate being lowest in the capital, as inequalities are huge (and growing).
Fish is a main source of protein for Ghanaian and with other opportunities of employment being slim to none (as products are to a large degree imported and industries are nascent or non-existent), fishing is a popular option to make a living along the coast. Traditionally it has been the Ga communities in particular that have supplied the city and beyond with the fresh catch of the day.
Notwithstanding the risk of overfishing and need for a moratorium in general, there seems to be a plethora of international vessels from France to China, taking a big part of the catch, e.g. of tuna, to far away international markets. Leaving only smaller parts to the little boats facing the waves each day and night closer to shore.
To ensure that future generations will be able to benefit from the splendors of the sea more sustainable methods (and agreements) seem necessary.
Lighthouse views. The biggest issue, however, seems to be the handling of plastic waste.
With every purchase in Accra you are offered a "rubber" - a thin, black plastic bag. Even if you just purchase a plastic bottle... plastic upon plastic that ends up in the ocean ... and back on the coast :(
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Smaller amounts of rubbish are often burned.
And not so far off is the Agbogbloshie, a huge dumping site, also for electronic waste from Europe!
The picture didn't capture it, but from the light house we could see massive smoke coming from the site.
In the meantime life goes on in Jamestown. Cows from a nearby slaughterhouse enjoy their beach time. And soccer is the favorite past time for the boy (and men) in town.
*
on the ingenuity of the community having to live at Agbogbloshie see
the TED talk: "What a scrapyard in Ghana can teach us about innovation"
https://www.ted.com/talks/dk_osseo_asare_what_a_scrapyard_in_ghana_can_teach_us_about_innovation?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2018-08-18&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=top_left_button
I had already heard that the beach is not really suitable for swimming as sewage of this 2 million people capital is lead into it, but I utterly unprepared for what was to come.
For one, Accra is a huge city, with huge mansions and fancy parts of town (e.g. Airport Residential), but fact is that many people still live in poverty, despite the rate being lowest in the capital, as inequalities are huge (and growing).
Fish is a main source of protein for Ghanaian and with other opportunities of employment being slim to none (as products are to a large degree imported and industries are nascent or non-existent), fishing is a popular option to make a living along the coast. Traditionally it has been the Ga communities in particular that have supplied the city and beyond with the fresh catch of the day.
Notwithstanding the risk of overfishing and need for a moratorium in general, there seems to be a plethora of international vessels from France to China, taking a big part of the catch, e.g. of tuna, to far away international markets. Leaving only smaller parts to the little boats facing the waves each day and night closer to shore.
To ensure that future generations will be able to benefit from the splendors of the sea more sustainable methods (and agreements) seem necessary.
Lighthouse views. The biggest issue, however, seems to be the handling of plastic waste.
With every purchase in Accra you are offered a "rubber" - a thin, black plastic bag. Even if you just purchase a plastic bottle... plastic upon plastic that ends up in the ocean ... and back on the coast :(
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Smaller amounts of rubbish are often burned.
And not so far off is the Agbogbloshie, a huge dumping site, also for electronic waste from Europe!
The picture didn't capture it, but from the light house we could see massive smoke coming from the site.
In the meantime life goes on in Jamestown. Cows from a nearby slaughterhouse enjoy their beach time. And soccer is the favorite past time for the boy (and men) in town.
https://www.ted.com/talks/dk_osseo_asare_what_a_scrapyard_in_ghana_can_teach_us_about_innovation?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2018-08-18&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=top_left_button
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